In trolling for fish which are found at various depths, it is conventional practice to use diving sinkers for carrying the fish bait to the desired depths. A number of diving sinkers have been developed which are initially set to assume a diving attitude when pulled through the water to carry the bait to the desired depths. Then, when a fish strikes the bait, the diving sinker changes from the set or diving attitude to an unset or climbing attitude to facilitate reeling in the fish. Examples of such devices are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,643,370, 3,940,872 and 4,567,687. All of these devices require the device to be reset after each fish strike in order that the sinker will assume the diving attitude when placed in the water for trolling.
Other devices have been developed in which the sinker member is automatically reset to assume a diving attitude by various structural means, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,466,787 and 4,581,842.